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welp, here comes a doozy.
I like the outdoors but am pretty new to real /out/ stuff. I'm also a PhD student, and my first summer of fieldwork is coming up. I'll be in the American Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) for a month straight searching for jumping spiders. While I will sometimes have lodging, there will be many days where I will need to hike out to a field site and stay a night or two. I will also have to sleep in my rented minivan or adjacent to it for parts of the trip because of budget reasons. I know this is very basic stuff for many of you, but its a large step for me.
I'm starting to purchase gear, and am looking for recommendations from more experienced people on the following:
>Lightweight freestanding tent
>Sleeping pad
>Sleeping bag (does not need to be for very cold temps)
>50L-ish backpack
I have a High Sierra external frame, but I am worried it might be too heavy? I am a skinny weakling. However, I could then clip extra things to the frame, which might help
>Anything else that would be good for desert summer hiking
Honestly though, the thing I'm most worried/anxious about is having to crap in the field. Never done that before.
